Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Baltimore resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Monday, days after his release from criminal custody. ICE officers refused to explain why he was detained again or to provide information about his whereabouts after being taken into custody.
According to his attorney, Abrego Garcia had gone to ICE’s Baltimore field office for a routine check-in, which was required as part of the conditions for his release from federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security said that Abrego Garcia is being processed for deportation to Uganda – one of several countries that has agreed under the Trump administration to receive deportees.
Just last week, Abrego Garcia had been reunited with his family following 160 days of separation. Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, said: “There was absolutely no reason to detain him today other than retaliation. This is punishment for exercising his constitutional right to fight these proceedings.”
Prosecutors had previously offered Abrego Garcia a plea deal that would have allowed him to serve prison time and then move freely in Costa Rica, but he declined, maintaining his innocence. Now, he once again faces deportation while awaiting trial in Tennessee on a federal human trafficking charge.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said in a court filing that despite assurances from Costa Rica that they would accept him, ICE informed them almost immediately after his release from pretrial detention that the government planned instead to deport him to Uganda. They argued that “the only conclusion here is that DOJ, DHS, and ICE are working together to corner Mr. Abrego into choosing between pleading guilty and relative safety—or being sent to Uganda, where both his safety and liberty are at risk.”
Abrego Garcia was originally returned to the U.S. from an El Salvador detention center to face trafficking charges that stemmed from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Police there said he was speeding and transporting men who appeared to have no luggage. He has denied the charges, and his legal team has pushed to have the case thrown out, claiming it amounts to selective and retaliatory prosecution. Though he entered the U.S. without authorization, a 2019 immigration court ruling barred the government from deporting him back to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia is married to a U.S. citizen, and the couple has a child who is also a U.S. citizen.
Before going into the ICE office Monday morning, Abrego Garcia addressed the crowd of family members, advocates, and attorneys who had gathered in his support. He said in Spanish: “My name is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and I want you to remember this: I am free, and I was able to reunite with my family. This was a miracle. I thank God and this community. I want to thank everyone who marched, spoke up, prayed, and fought on my behalf. Please don’t stop.”
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